﻿NOTES AND CAPTURES. 263 



The successful Moth-trap. — Having read Mr. Christy's interesting 

 article on his moth-trap, I must saj it seems to be very much like the 

 American moth-trap ; but I think the latter has an advantage in the 

 drawer at bottom, as, by having this filled with fresh fine-cut laurel- 

 leaves, the trapped insects are stupefied, if not killed ; whereas without this 

 the moths have full run of the trap. Another advantage I think rests with 

 the American moth-trap — i. e., Mr. Christy's trap allows the moth access 

 to the portion k to b. In the American trap this k to b glass runs down 

 into the trap, and joins the lamp protective glass at about figure g : thus 

 the moths have no choice but to go downwards and inhale the poison. 

 On the other hand the shadow partition, running from f up to the lamp- 

 wick, is clearly an advantage, the moths below being nearly in darkness 

 still I think, instead of the side-doors and shutters as in Mr. Christy's, a 

 drawer should be added from d to c, running the whole size of bottom of trap. 

 In this case it would not want the dark shutter of the American trap, but 

 simply a deep drawer, — say 2£ inches, quite plain, with |--inch bed of 

 chopped laurel-leaves at bottom. As Mr. Christy says, the wood warps, and 

 causes the drawers and doors to fix ; this is not so in the American trap, 

 as it is all metal and glass only. I am not for one moment trying to run 

 down Mr. Christy's trap in favour of the American, as I think that, with 

 the drawer I mention and no side-doors, Mr. Christy's is even better than 

 the American ; but the addition of the poison-dnwer is absolutely necessary 

 to make it perfect. — Edward Cooke; 30, Museum Street, W.C. 



LarvvE of Triph^ena fimbria. — For some years past it has been a 

 puzzle to me why the mortality amongst the larvae of Triphcena fimbria 

 should be so great. Last year I had a score or more of these larvae, but I 

 did not rear one imago. I believe that I have now solved the problem to 

 some extent. This year, having collected a good number of the larvae, I 

 placed twenty in a cage by themselves ; they all fed up well, and were down 

 by the 30th of May. Contrary to my usual custom, I yesterday emptied 

 the cage to examine the pupae, and found five large cocoons of some 

 ichneumon fly. Four of these I herewith send to you, and shall be glad 

 if you can determine what they are. — John M. Young ; Rotherham. 

 [The ichneumon is Campoplex micctus, Grav. — T. R. B.] 



Phibalapteryx vittata and Amphidasys betularta at Yeovil. — 

 On the 12th instant a fine specimen of Phibalapteryx vittata (= lignata) 

 came to light; and on the 22nd a large female Amphidasys betularia was 

 picked up from the pavement near the centre of the town. Both are, I 

 believe, new to the neighbourhood. — Thomas Parmiter ; 12, Camborne 

 Grove, Yeovil, June 24, 1890. 



Stauropus fagi near Beading. — On May 26th T took Stauropusfagi 

 (female) in an old beech wood near Caversham. It was at rest on the trunk 

 of a beech tree, some seven feet from the ground. I may add that one 

 other specimen has been taken in the same wood this year, and one imago 

 and one larva last year. — J. Clarke : Carey Street, Reading, June 17, ly'JU. 



Diloba c^eruleocephala feeding on Cherry Laurel. — I have just 

 had larvae of Diloba cccruleocephala brought me, found feeding on cherry 

 laurel ; and as it seems to me a very unusual food for these larvae, 1 should 

 like to know if any of your readers have ever found them feeding on this 

 shrub.— W. E. Butler; 297, Oxford Road, Reading, June 1G, 1890. 



